Upholstery structure



P 1941- J. c. GORDON UPHOLSTERY STRUCTURE Original Filed March 6, 1959 FIG.3.

I NV EN TOR.

N w O M; T G A 5% K I c A.

Patented Sept. 9, 1941 UPHOLSTERY STRUCTURE Jack 0. Gordon, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Allen Industries, 1110., Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Original application March 6, 1939, Serial No. 260,245. Divided and this application March 18, 1940, Serial No. 324,694

2 Claims.

This invention relates generally to upholstery units such as cushions for spring seats of automobiles, and constitutes a division of my application filed March. 6, 1939, bearing Serial No. 260,245.

One of the essential objects of the invention is to provide a seat cushion that is formed of relatively low cost materials but that has pronounced resiliency and the valuable characteristics of more expensive structures made from sponge or molded rubber.

Another object is to provide a cushion of this type that is capable of withstanding abuses due to handling without disintegrating or losing its shape.

Another object is to provide a self-contained unit of preformed plies or layers of fibrous material that are united and held in place relative to each other by the substance that imparts resiliency to the unit.

Other objects, advantages and novel details of construction of this invention will be made more apparent as this description proceeds, especially when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a cushion embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the cushion when initially appliedrto a spring structure;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the relation of parts after the fabric trim material has been applied to the assembly.

Referring now to the drawing, A is the body, B is the skin coating of latex, and C is the fabric covering of a cushioning unit embodying my invention.

As shown, the body A is in the form of a seat cushion and has three plies of material 10, H and 12, respectively, assembled in superposed relation. Preferably these plies are formed of fibrous material such as cotton and are cut. to size from suitable sheets of relatively fiuffy cotton batting. The upper ply H) is similar in configuration to the lower ply l2 but has a greater area so as to project laterally over the forward and rearward edges of the lower ply E2. The intermediate ply H is located at the forward edge of the lower ply l2 and tapers rearwardly to a point substantially midway the forward and rear edges of said lower ply. Preferably the forward edge 13 of the intermediate ply is substantially flush with the forward edge 64 of the lower ply, and the upper and lower plies i and 12, respectively, are disposed in surface-tosurface relation in rear of the tapered end 15 of the intermediate ply II.

The skin coating B of latex is upon all exposed surfaces of the body A and forms a continuous uninterrupted elastic adhering envelope for said body. If desired, such latex may also be upon the lower surface of the upper layer l0, upon the upper and lower surfaces of the intermediate layer II, and upon the upper surface of the lower layer l2. Wherever applied the latex is preferably in the form of a surface layer and is preferably applied by a spraying operation. Due to its tenacious and adhering qualities, the latex serves as a binder or bonding agent between the layers at the edges and contacting surfaces thereof and effectively ties the same together. Due to its elastic characteristics, it effectively serves to add resiliency to the cushion so that it will have a strong tendency to resume its original shape after deflection. If desired, the latex may be at least partially cured after being applied by subjecting it to currents of warm air within a suitable oven (not shown).

The fabric covering C is preferably a sheet of open mesh cloth such as tobacco cloth and also completely envelopes the body A. Actually, this cover C follows closely the contour of the body A and is bonded thereto by the latex coating B. 1

In the present instance, the upper ply H] is notched or gored as indicated at [B so that the laterally projecting edge portions ll of the upper ply between the notches l6 may be readily bent downward over the top border wire [8 of a supporting spring structure D, as illustrated in Figure 3. The tobacco cloth C enveloping the body A has an open mesh, hence when the edge portions I! of the upper ply are bent downward as aforesaid the latex coatings on such edge portions l! and on the adjacent edges of the lower plies II and I2 extend through such c1oth and bond the downturned edge portions I! to the adjacent edges of the lower plies. A suitable trim fabric E covers the cushioning unit and spring structure and is secured to the base [9 of the latter as illustrated in Figure 3 to complete the seat assembly.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An upholstery unit having a top ply of fibrous material, a smaller under ply of fibrous material, and an intermediate ply of tapering cross section, the intermediate ply being located I adjacent the front edges of the other plies, the

edges of the top ply being notched or gored, the laminated structure being completely enveloped with a skin coating of latex, the portions of the top ply between the notches being turned down over the lower plies, the latex aforesaid bonding said downturned portions to said lower plies.

2. An upholstery unit having a body completely enveloped by a skincoating of latex and an open mesh fabric, the body having the general configuration of a seat cushion and comprising threeplies of fibrous material, the top ply having a greater area than the bottom ply, and the intermediate ply tapering from the forward edge of the bottom ply to a point substantially midway the forward and rear edges of the bottom ply, the edge portions of the top ply being bent downward against and adhering to the adjacent edges of the lower plies.

JACK C. GORDON. 

